Braking Point laying off its employees

Staff report

AUSTINTOWN

Braking Point Recovery Center in Austintown, which is part of an investigation by several state and federal agencies, is laying off virtually all its employees.

The Vindicator’s broadcast partner, 21 WFMJ-TV, obtained a letter sent to employees from owner Ryan Sheridan announcing the layoffs Monday.

Sheridan’s home and the center were raided last week by agents from the Ohio Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Unit, Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation, the IRS and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency.

Investigators said those searches were conducted as part of a two-year-long investigation.

The layoffs come after the Ohio Department of Medicaid suspended the center’s Medicaid contract Thursday.

As a result, the letter said they are no longer able to bill for services provided and must lay off its employees within less than 60 days.

The short notice is because the suspension of the contract was “sudden, dramatic, unexpected and outside of our control,” according to Sheridan’s letter.

The length of the layoffs are not yet determined, and the letter stated it’s unknown if they will be temporary or permanent, just that it will exceed six months in duration.

Local addiction-recovery officials are urging people seeking addiction treatment to reach out to one of a few recommended providers.

In a news release, the Mahoning County Mental Health and Recovery Board reminded people looking for treatment to reach out to these providers:

Meridian Healthcare, 330-797-0070.

Neil Kennedy Recovery Center, 330-744-1181.

Compass Family and Community Services, 330-782-5664.

The county Mental Health and Recovery Board also reminded those who might be impacted by Braking Point’s disruption of services should contact their Medicaid managed-care plan case managers.

Member services numbers for Medicaid managed-care plans are:

Buckeye, 866-246-4358.

Caresource, 800-488-0134.

Molina, 800-642-4168.

Paramount, 800-462-3589.

United, 800-895-2017.

To search for alternative service providers using the ODM website, visit: https://portal.ohmits.com. Select your county, then enter the name of an agency. If you do not know the name of a specific provider, search by selecting a provider type from the drop-down box. Use “OMHAS Certified/Licensed Treatment Program.”

For assistance, call the Ohio Medicaid Consumer Hotline at 800-324-8680.